Virginia, sweet Virginia!!

This is a post I started back before Christmas but never had the time to finish. I'll share it now and you can all have fond memories of your near distant fall holidays.

Okay, so did I tell you that Virginia is my new favorite state? Besides the one I live in and the one I hail from? For Thanksgiving we drove to Massachusetts . Yes, you read that correctly. WE DROVE!! We went to visit Paw, my husband's grandfather and also my husband's uncle. Hubby, kiddo, and I packed up our car and on a Monday afternoon we left our home in central AL. We enjoyed a stop at Starbucks where I tried out the peppermint holiday drink. I don't drink coffee, so when I do try it out, it has to be fancified. I tried it again on the way home and I tried the carmel one as well on day 2 of our trip. We had a lovely trip until we hit Penn. and then later the New Jersey turnpike. These made hwy 280 look like child's play!! But we did see the night-time New York City skyline, something I have never seen before!!

We spent the night in Virginia. Where our near perfect room left us rested and well for our 2nd day of travels. I am easily amused by small things. The free cookie from the front counter and the rubber ducky left in our bathroom made my day (and kiddo's also). The scenery was wonderful. I kept saying, "these hills remind me of parts of Germany". Which explains why you find so many German influences in these parts. Mix in some Scottish highlander ancestry and I'm sure there are some fiery characters in the parts we passed through. I didn't sleep much, I was too busy being plastered to the window. It was a perfect beautiful sunny fall day!

In Massachusetts we stayed at a nursing home. No really, it was an assisted living home. We actually stayed in the room reserved for guests so it was much like a hotel but we had a good time making a joke out of the situation. We had a wonderful time. Paw of course, had to take us around and introduce us to the staff and residents. Hubby is his only grandson and kiddo is of course his only great grandchild. Not sure who had more fun, Paw or us. We arrived on a Tuesday and left on a Friday night. We ate well, enjoyed our wonderful Thanksgiving week, and our special time with Paw. Needless to say we were very thankful!!

We left in the snow flurries and drove all night and by Saturday, we were passing through Virginia again. Once again Virginia was our place of refuge and the Cracker Barrel did not disappoint. We were weary, and probably stinky, but our bellies were full and a nap through Knoxville came very easily for both kiddo and me.

We were almost home when we had a flat tire. We found ourselves in a church parking lot just off the interstate. We had to laugh a little. It was cold, but not snowing nor was it raining. We finally pulled in our driveway exactly 24hours from the time we left the nursing home in Mass. I went to bed that night thankful for a safe, full, and rich journey to the North. I couldn't help but think about, if only for a second, those wonderful buttermilk biscuits with bacon at the Cracker Barrel, in Virginia .......Sweet Virginia.

The pictures include "a walk with Paw", "a walk through the apple orchard", and "hotel fun". Those are situps we are doing with daddy, by the way, in case you couldn't tell.:)

Friday Funnies

Shouldn't eating always be this much fun?

Ahemmm.......more on that topic some other day!:)

Thankful Thursday

In this season of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for many things: My home, my husband, my two jobs, my church, my friends, my saviour. Soooo many things.

But when your baby boy, who came to you despite the diagnosis of infertility, collects these leaves just for you?........it is a teary eyed thankful heart that puts them in a vase and takes a picture.

Just thought I would share. :) Have a blessed day!

P.s. He collected this bouquet back in September, I am just late in finishing my draft.

Because Kids Live Here and a Picture Challenge.....

I am participating today in a challenge hosted  by Lynette whose blog I visit often.   Stop on over to read a bit of her humor and view her awesome photography.  She also has a wonderful testimony and a book published!!

I chose to laugh at these minor irritations, even though I am growing weary of cleaning up toilet paper collections!!I managed to catch a few on film.  Kiddo is a very busy bee!!

In my pics you will see:

1. Mutiny--all Men overboard!!

2. Refrigerator raid--(that's Ketchup and we have not yet completed our Church ensemble-close call)

3. Toilet Paper on the Move

4.  TP Collector Extraordinaire

Major Dad

                




We had a good Father's Day.  We went to church,  ate ribs afterwards, took  naps, and played with the baby.  Hubby went running in the late afternoon.  I advised him to wait until after 6pm(heat index)  but it was what he wanted to do and afterall, it was his day.  Now that I have the house to myself, I'm going to brag on him a little, even if it is Monday.

Even though he is not perfect by any means, he is perfect for me. God really knew what he was doing.  He is decent, honorable, and hardworking.  He serves his country and the people of this state.  He could have gone to work somewhere for a lot more money, but he chose not to.  He's good at what he does and genuinely loves the people that he works with.  He loves the Lord and his family(photos).   If you knew half of what I do about what he grew up out of and overcame, you'd be in awe of him as well.  Especially when you see him at the table in the mornings drinking his coffee and reading his bible.

Last year on Father's Day my husband was serving in the "great hot sandbox".  (photos) It was his first Father's Day and his 2nd deployment.  He spent most of his time losing sleep.  He never slept more than 4 hours at a time for the whole 7 months he was there.  No one wanted to share a room with him for all the knocking on doors.  The constant "sir, there's a problem....." tended to cut sleep down to a minimum.  

 He briefed, he met, he ate foreign food, he socialized, he solved problems, he secured, he promoted, he was always a target,  etc etc......a long list of etc.  He even stood on a HumV and gave speeches to Iraqi's about not quitting just because they had not yet gotten paid.  He believed in what this village was trying to establish.   It worked. 

If you were to ask him out in public about some of these stories, he would probably play them down.  He wouldn't brag about how he got promoted or how he received the highest honor any artillery officer can receive.  He wouldn't brag about how ALL his men returned home safely from TWO deployments.   He probably wouldn't mention how the spiritual lives of his marines were affected while under his command.   He probably WOULD tell you about how doing the Experiencing God study while there in the desert affected him.  He probably would tell you how God honored his obedience in many matters.

Recently, on a Friday, my husband received a job offer.  He had to give an answer by Monday.  It was military related.  It was an artillery officer's dream job.  It was flattering to be asked.  Very Complementary to be considered for such a job as this.  He had to turn it down.  He could not leave his wife and child again.   For no amount of fame or history making, can he leave his civilian job again.  He would have to quit in order to volunteer.   The job would mean more money.  He sounded excited when he called to tell me about it.  I asked him if he was tempted.  He said he was, but only for a few.  I am so thankful!!

  Someday he might let me tell you the story of the bibles.   Just know that at the end of the chaos those bibles caused,  God's plan ruled and there are 100 arabic bibles that were not there before.  Will a remote western village be changed?  It already has been.  Only God knows the end of that long story.

My husband probably worries about being a good father.  When his own father died at a very young age, he was sent to live with an aunt and an uncle.  At the funeral, with future unknown, a pastor put his hand on a very young man's burdened shoulder and told him, "son, you are embarking on a great adventure, your journey is just beginning".   How prophetic were those words!!  

As you can tell, I'm a big fan!  I respect and love my husband for all that he is and will be.  As for my own father?  I'm going fishing with him this week, I'll post about that later!!!

Happy Father's Day!!

A Funny Thing happened....

A funny thing happened to me last week.  I was on my way to church last Sunday morning and I had to stop at the store to pick up some nursery supplies.  My husband drove and chose to wait out in the car with the baby.  It took me a few minutes to locate what I needed.  I am not familiar with this particular store.  I paid the cashier and with my mind on other things I headed back out to the car.

Some of you will relate to what happened next.  You know those moments of split second registration?  Those moments when you realize that you have made a big mistake?

I opened the car door and with my bags in the air ready to put in the floorboard, I registered that this was not my seat and that was not my catfood, and more importantly the man smoking the cigarette behind the wheel was not my husband!!!!  He was looking at me rather funny.......I was looking at him rather surprised,   and just as quickly as I had opened the door, I said "OH, I'm so sorry" and I shut the door.  

I was laughing so hard by the time I crossed the parking lot and got into the IDENTICAL car that really was mine, I was unable to tell my husband what had happened.  I heard the stranger man laughing and he waved as he drove off.  I waved back.  We are bonded now you know!  I'm sure he had a good story to tell to folks the rest of the day!!

I quit laughing and crying long enough to explain why that stranger man was laughing and waving at us.  Husband and I, we laughed all the way to church and my mascara was completely gone by the time we arrived.   

 So many times this week I have thought about the looks on our faces as we realized  what was happening.  It has brought me many a merry moment!   I hope we both learned something from the whole experience........ he might lock his car door next time, and I might pay more attention to the direction in which I am parked!!  Note to self.......

I just thought I would share.  I hope this brought you a bit of laughter in your day.......even if it is at my expense!!  

Wordless Wednesday

Manic Monday?

Whew!  I am so overwhelmed!  I've been packing and traveling and repacking and coming home and now that I have my house to myself,  I am catching up on some bloggy stuff.  I missed the block party on Friday, I can't believe I did that!!  Okay, yes I can, the way my brain has been working lately, I'm not surprised that I missed it!   And then there is the Getting to know you deal and I just spent 30 minutes looking at some blogs that are new to me!  Such fun!

Last week when I was computerless, I spent a lot of time thinking about God's plan or "destinies".  It is a topic that has come up often over the last 6 months. That is not an accident. Now, we (ladies at church) are doing Beth Moore's Study on Esther.  Destiny is all over that study!!  ANd I have cried every week so far.  I highly recommend this study if you ever have the opportunity to participate!!   

Sometimes the enormity of it all just brings me to my knees!!  "It" being God's plan, or moment, or  grace, or trial, or fill in the blank with anything that pertains to that which we do not know or understand just yet.

This time last year, I was preparing for the birth of my son.  I was picking up my husband from the airport for a long Easter Weekend.  He was in California, getting ready to deploy to Iraq, trying to get a plane out the Friday before Easter. ( Why was Easter in March last year?)  I had Braxton Hicks contractions all the way out to the Birmingham airport.  If not for the other officers, my husband would have been on the advanced party and would have missed the birth entirely.  Tomorrow on the 24th, our son turns one.  I can't help but wonder what destiny holds in store for this precious child.  What does the story God's written  for him look like?

For more about the ironies of God's plan, you can visit Melanie as she studies the book of Ruth.  Her post for today really stirred my heart.  I wonder if King David ever really read their story?

Wordless Wednesdays

The kid in the Oven

I was watching my child today and considering how  tomorrow he will be 11 months old and how quickly time flies.  Over the past two weeks he has  perfected his clap, his backwards wave, and his use of the sippy cup.  No more bottle!?!   He tries to sing the Elmo song.  He has experimented with the crab walk, as he is getting ready to walk any day now.  Today he decided that he did not like hot dog bites.  This is the first food that he has shown an aversion to, as he is normally a big pig.  He is transforming into  a little person!  Today his daily chats with the kid in the oven (his reflection) changed from just chatter to purposeful activity.  I watched him as he intently studied this kid.  When he waved, the kid waved.  When he laughed and clapped, the kid laughed and clapped back.  Then he held both arms way up over his head and laughed and laughed at how the kid in the oven did that as well.  It was quite a show.  The kid did whatever he told him to do, in perfect step, a perfect reflection.

I watched him for some time,  all the while wondering  about my own reflection.  Or to be more exact, the Lord's reflection.  Do I reflect the Lord's glory on a daily basis?  Is my transformation into his likeness pleasing to the Lord?  or do I stall more often than I should? Is that reflection perfectly in sync? Do I allow the Spirit to saturate every part of my being?  My journey to that perfect reflection is just that, a journey.   Long and slow and steady.  Sometimes stalled and stubborn.   Prayerfully  Seeking.......and only to be finally perfected when my journey is over.  Do you imagine an artist who lovingly adds the very last perfect brush stroke on that glorious day?!! (I do)  A perfect picture that can only give all the Glory to the Father!!

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2Cor 3:18)

Amen!  

Wordless Wednesdays

Wordless Wednesdays

Wordless Wednesdays

Wordless Wednesdays